ATARI’S SID MEIER’S PIRATES!
SAILS INTO STORES
Highly-Anticipated Sequel From Firaxis Games Re-Captures The Magic of One of the
Greatest Games of All Time
BEVERLY, MA – November 22, 2004 –
Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR) and Firaxis Games announced today that the
highly-anticipated sequel to one of the most popular and loved titles in gaming
history has shipped to retail stores nationwide. Sid Meier’s Pirates!® received
unprecedented critical acclaim when it was first released in 1987 and set the
industry standard for innovative game design with its unique blend of open-ended
role-playing, real-time adventures and thrilling action sequences. The new game
uses an entirely new game engine and delivers updated gameplay, spectacular 3D
graphics and many new features.
“Pirates!® is recognized as one of
the greatest games ever created and there has been a lot of anticipation for the
return of this classic,” said Nancy MacIntyre, vice president of marketing,
Atari, Inc. “Firaxis has done an amazing job balancing the addition of new
features and gameplay while maintaining the spirit and addictiveness of the
original.”
“Pirates! is among the most popular
and loved titles in gaming history and Sid and the team have far surpassed our
expectations by delivering a game that has the highest quality graphics, new
features, and enhanced gameplay that improve upon the award-winning original,”
said Jeff Briggs, Firaxis Games founder, president and CEO. “Firaxis Games and
Atari are thrilled to offer this incredibly fun, action-adventure game to a new
generation of gamers around the world.”
The new Pirates! carries on with the
great gameplay and design simplicity tradition of the original while adding more
challenging and exciting battle options, and a deeper and more varied
role-playing experience. In the leading role as a Pirate Captain in the 17th
century Caribbean, you explore high seas and exotic ports, overtake enemies in
fierce naval battles, engage in duels and try to seize valuable booty in an
attempt to become the most revered and feared pirate in history. As your
reputation and skills grow, so will the size and quality of your crew, and your
ability to take on larger enemy ships, raid and plunder heavily fortified ports,
and locate ancient treasure. There’s a whole cast of interesting and dangerous
characters to meet, mysteries to solve, exotic island destinations to discover,
and powerful alliances to forge.
Sid Meier’s Pirates! is rated ‘E’
for Everyone and is currently available at retail stores nationwide for a
suggested price of $49.99. A Limited Edition version is also available for the
same price and is packed with tons of bonus material including the original
Pirates! game, the full behind the scenes making-of video, developer diaries,
unique exclusive content and bonus material. Additional information can be found
on the official site,
www.atari.com/pirates.
About Firaxis Games
FIRAXIS Games, home of legendary
designer Sid Meier, is one of the world’s premier independent game development
studios. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, FIRAXIS has created some of the
most successful and award-winning PC games on the market. The company’s most
recent hit titles include: Sid Meier’s SimGolf (published by Electronic Arts);
the mega-hit Sid Meier’s Civilization III (published by Atari); Sid Meier’s
Civilization III: Play The World, the multiplayer expansion pack; and Sid
Meier’s Civilization III: Conquests, the second expansion pack to the legendary
strategy game. Firaxis has a rich history of creating great games including: Sid
Meier’s Gettysburg!, Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri, Sid Meier’s Alien Crossfire and
Sid Meier’s Antietam!. For more information on FIRAXIS Games visit
www.firaxis.com.
About Atari
New York-based Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq:
ATAR) develops interactive games for all platforms and is one of the largest
third-party publishers of interactive entertainment software in the U.S. The
Company’s 1,000+ titles include hard-core, genre-defining games such as DRIV3R™,
Enter the Matrix™, Neverwinter Nights™, Stuntman™, Test Drive®, Unreal®
Tournament 2004, and Unreal® Championship; and mass-market and children’s games
such as Backyard Sports™, Nickelodeon’s Blue’s Clues™ and Dora the Explorer™,
Civilization®, Dragon Ball Z® and RollerCoaster Tycoon®. Atari, Inc. is a
majority-owned subsidiary of France-based Infogrames Entertainment SA (Euronext
5257), the largest interactive games publisher in Europe. For more information,
visit www.atari.com.
# # #
2004 Atari, Inc. All rights
reserved.
All other trademarks are the
property of their respective owners.